I let my head rest against the cold back of the medical bed and tried my best not to squirm as the Enclave doctor looming above me slowly pried the welded-on metal helmet from my head. I had always had a remarkably high pain threshold, even before my encounter with the Goddess that had turned me into the abomination I was now, but even I had trouble with the immense amount of pain searing through my skull.

After a long moment, I felt the final bit of metal pry away from my flesh, long metal spikes inside the helmet slowly sliding their way out of my cranium. For the first time in a long while, I felt blood bubbling from the wounds. The doctor had removed the hydra pumping through my veins to complete the procedure.

Outside my helmet was a strange experience. I had spent so long within it that I had forgotten just how good it felt to be able to fully move my jaw. The world lacked the red tint I had grown so accustomed to and even the air felt cleaner, or at least as clean as it could be with multiple tubes pumping oxygen into me that had been shoved up my muzzle to keep me breathing without my helmet.

I lay there unmoving, simply paying attention to the now alien feeling of my blood and the slow methodical beeping of the electrocardiogram as the Doctor turned the two halves of my helmet around in her hooves, inspecting the blasted open part of the visor where Skylight had shot me. “Interesting damage…” The doctor commented coyly, giving me a smug looking smirk. “They would have needed to have gotten remarkably close to damage the glass like this.”

I just continued to glare up at the ceiling. I had no desire to think or talk about Skylight at the moment.

The Doctor just chuckled to themselves. “You are quite the anomaly to me, Horrigan. There is so much I have learned in your time under my care. So much more I wish I could extract… If given the time.”

I turned my head slightly to glare at her. I caught a small glimpse of my reflection in the mirror behind her as I did, making out the ghastly look of my withered, scarred flesh and bloodshot eyes. Most of the skin on my face had been burned away, revealing the deformed muscle beneath, and the flesh that remained had mutated into hideous, pussy patches. I felt a shiver pass through me at the sight. I was even more of a monster beneath the insidious mask that had become my new face.

“You are the one that turned me into this?” I rumbled, gesturing to my body and turning my blurry gaze to her in an attempt to pry my vision away from the horrifying sight of myself. Without the helmet, my voice sounded far less imposing. Much scratcher and strained for breath.

The Doctor chuckled. “The Goddess did a lot of the heavy lifting, but yes, I did. You were a bit of a pet project of mine over the last two years,” she turned and placed the broken helmet down on her desk before picking up a replacement helmet from beside her. “The original design for a lot of your augmentation came from an old colleague of mine, Doctor Pestilence, though I have improved greatly upon his designs, don’t you think?”

She leaned over and began fastening the new helmet over my head once again. I held still, letting the metal plates fall into place around me. I winced as I felt the metal spikes once more slide beneath my flesh and poke at my brain and spine and the searing heat as the doctor began grafting the helmet to my face once more. Dark panes of red glass obscure my vision, returning my world into a constant state of crimson.

“I’ll tell you what,” The doctor grinned, finally pulling away from me as the helmet fully clicked into place. “Since you’ve been such a good test subject for me these past two years, how about I get you a little parting gift?”

She reached behind her and pulled out some sort of blinking, mechanical device on the end of a drill. I looked it over skeptically, trying to discern what it actually was. “What is it?”

“Stealth-buck,” They cooed. “Gives you the ability to turn invisible for a short time,” The doctors grin turned into a sly, almost sinister smile. “Perhaps giving this to you isn’t the smartest idea, but to be honest, I just want to see what will happen.”

I gave her an emotionless nod and shifted my head as directed as she began drilling into my skull. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head as they drill was inserted, followed by an intense hammering sensation as the device was implanted into my brain. A second later, there was a loud slurping sound as the drill slid back out. Blood burbled out of the hole for a second before my body patched the wound back up.

"This Stealth-buck is special in the sense that it recharges. You should be able to get at least once charge a day out of it," The doctor leaned back and gave a long sigh. “Oh, how I would have loved to have experimented on you more; see what other little gadgets I could stick in you, but Thunderbolt needed you on the field. I confess that I had my reservations about you. Every test I ran suggested that you were not mentally or physically stable enough for the strain of duty, but Thunderbolt was insistent. Clearly he saw something that I did not.”

“Or he was desperate,” A voice spoke up from the other side of the room. Both of us looked over to see the door to the medical chamber slide shut behind Icewind as she trotted into the room to greet us. “Doctor Knife Slit. Do you mind if I have a moment alone with Prance Horrigan?”

Knife Slit’s eyes narrowed. “Ahh, the Dashite. I’m sure whatever your business with Horrigan is, it can be said to me as well,” She took a few steps towards Icewind, her muzzle moving inches away from her face. “I heard you got demoted. Pity. You don’t control anypony anymore, do you? I wonder… How long do you think you’ll last?”

I could see Icewind visibly gulp, though she kept her gaze locked on the doctor. “A temporary setback. I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern,” She retorted in a scathing tone. “Now if you wouldn’t mind…” She gestured to the door with a wing.

Doctor Knife Slit glanced back and forth from Icewind to the door for a few seconds before scoffing. “Very well. I was done with Horrigan anyway,” she took a few steps, heading for the exit before she paused and glanced back at Icewind. “Your days are numbered Dashite. I look forward to watching you get spayed. Maybe when the Enclave is done with you, I’ll get to experiment on your body as well,” and with that, she stalked from the room.

The moment Knife Slit was out of sight, Icewind let the knotted muscles in her shoulder relax. I could see her whole body go limp with relief as she took a long, deep breath.

“What do you need,” I grumbled, hauling myself up off the medical bed. My head spun slightly as my body adjusted to the feeling of having chems pumped back into it once more.

Icewind took a moment, taking deep breaths and checking to make sure Knife Slit was truly gone. “Thunderbolt kept you behind for a moment in that meeting. I need to know what he told you,” She ordered bluntly, turning around to face me more directly.

I narrowed my eyes at her from behind my newly affixed helmet. “Why? If Thunderbolt felt you should know, he would have told you directly.”

Icewind growled at me. “Come on Horrigan, I need you to give me something. I’m practically walking around fucking naked right now. I need-” She paused, catching herself. “I think Thunderbolt made a mistake and for all our sakes I need to correct it, but I need to know what we’re really up against when we arrive at the MOA hub.”

I paused for a second, thinking that over. I knew I couldn’t tell her what Thunderbolt had told me, that much I was certain. Mostly on the account that it had essentially boiled down to me killing her if she got in the Enclaves way. After a second of deliberation, I just grunted. “If you wish to aid the Enclave, report to your commanding officer. They will give you the details you’re privy to.”

I took a step towards the door to pass her, only for Icewind to jump in front of me, blocking my exit. There was a strange look in her eye I had never seen in her before, a deep and terrified desperation. “Horrigan, listen to me. Please. I survived in the Enclave as long as I have as a Dashite because the rank Thunderbolt gave me protected me. Do you understand what I’m saying? They’re going to skin me alive right now if I don’t do something! Firestreak is going to find a way to have me crucified. I need something. Anything you can give me! I’m begging you.”

I scowled. “Perhaps you should have considered that before turning your back on the Enclave.”

Icewind’s pleading eyes turned into a growl. “I never turned my back on the Enclave. The Enclave turned its back on me. And what did I do? I flew right back to them and helped them rebuild themselves from the literal ground up when no pony in the fucking wasteland would!” her lips curled back to show her teeth as she snarled. “The Enclave didn’t pin me down when they seared my cutie mark off, I let them. I let them as a sign of obedience! If anything, my brand is proof that I am more loyal to the Enclave than any other fucking pegasus on this oil rig!”

“The Enclave would never turn on us so long as we obey,” I countered bluntly, garling down at her. Why the hell did she not get that?

“Really? Getting shot in the line of duty was me disobeying the Enclave? Skylight refusing to kill innocent foals in Friendship City is a crime worthy of being branded? Are you even listening to yourself right now?” Icewind hissed at me, flaring her wings out a little. “These aren’t the actions of traitors! These are the actions of ponies that are trying to make the world a better fucking place and the only thing getting in our way right now is you!”

“If you wanted to make the world better, you would fly steady and do what is demanded of you, and you will do so if you don’t want to be branded a second time, traitor,” I shot back venomously. There was a long pause as each of our words from the short exchange settled over the room like a fog. After a long moment, something Icewind said sparked up in my mind, insisting me to break the silence. “How did you know Skylight refused to kill innocent foals in Friendship City? I don’t believe that information was ever presented to you.”

Icewind hesitated, taking a small step away from me. “Horrigan, you need to listen to me. I love the Enclave. I believe that the Enclave is the best hope for the wasteland, I really do. You know I do. But even the Enclave has its faults. Some orders are best ignored.”

“You are avoiding the question,” I rumbled, advancing on her, my glass eyes glowing a dangerous looking red. “How did you know about Skylight’s role at Friendship City?”

Icewind took another step back, stealing herself as she stared up at me. “The Enclave keeps records of each troop they deploy on missions. As a commander- when I was a commander of the Enclave, I had access to those records. Skylight was on the raptor Altostus during the attack,” Icewind bit her lip for a second as she hesitated on how to proceed. “When- uh- when I rejoined the Enclave, I had to prove myself. I did so by hunting down the surviving Dashites of the battle for Friendship City. Skylight was on my list.”

I took a long moment to digest what she just said. “So you knew as well,” I growled, my gaze burning into her. “You knew Skylight was still alive, and you lied to me.”

“I lied because Thunderbolt told me to lie!” She snapped back. “When you first broke out of your bindings and went on a fucking rampage through the oil rig, no pony knew how to fucking react! We didn’t know what you would do if you found out your childhood best friend had gone Dashite! I followed my orders! I obeyed! Surely, if nothing else, you can understand that. Isn’t that what you fucking do? Obey!”

I could feel all my joints lock up at the question. I had to suddenly resist the urge to deploy my tesla cannon and vaporize Icewind on the spot. “I could have dealt with it better if I had known,” I seethed, gritting my teeth. “I could have followed orders better.”

Icewind scoffed. “Follow orders better? I’d say you did a pretty damn good job at following orders, Horrigan. And where did that get you? Huh? A pretty promise of a promotion and your marefriend branded and on the chopping block,” She took a step back, looking me over with a look of both interest and disdain. “You realize you’ve signed Skylight's death warrant, right? She dies tonight because of you? And to think she trusted you…”

“Are you suggesting I should have betrayed the Enclave,” I growled back, though I could feel a hollow feeling forming in my gut at her words. For the first time since I met her, Icewind was beginning to sound a lot less like a member of the Enclave and a lot more like a Dashite.

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Icewind huffed, finally turning away from me and stalking out the doorway of the medical chamber. “Just making you think for yourself,” She paused for a moment, turning her head slightly to look back at me. “I haven’t been able to make sense of you, Prance Horrigan. Not since we met. Everytime I think I figure out your angle, you do something that makes me question you all over again. I just hope that for the sake of your own soul, you’ve figured yourself out better than I have.”

Without saying another word, she trotted off down the hallway, the door sliding shut behind her. I stood in the centre of the room for a long moment, thinking everything she had said through my head over and over until my head hurt. When the pounding in my head became unbearable, I gave a loud roar and slammed my hooves down on the medical bed, violently snapping it in two and sending it crashing to the floor. I stood there a minute longer, just heaving and staring at the broken pieces of the bed, trying to quell the swelling rage in my chest.

Finally, I growled to myself and stormed out of the medical wing with a huff. What did Icewind know anyway? I would show her. She’d see. I knew exactly who I was. Right?

I stood at attention as Firestreak slowly stalked back and forth in front of the group of assembled Enclave troopers. She was still clad in her imposing suit of Enclave Tartarus power armour, though I quickly noticed a Enclave commander band had been fastened around her fore hoof, signifying her new rank.

We were all standing on the large, exterior landing platform of the Hippocampus oil rig. A heavy rain had begun to beat down upon us, slicking the surface. The night sky had been obscured by dark overcast clouds and a harsh wind had begun to blow in from the east.

Firestreak had called all of us out for a quick debriefing on the mission to come. Tension had begun to spread throughout the oil rig since the reveal of the mission, and with each hour that passed, the tension seemed to grow ever thicker. Every pony knew just how important this mission was for the Enclave, and Firestreak was clearly taking on a brunt of the pressure. Her movements seemed to have become more sporadic, almost twitchy with nervous energy. Her voice, what had once been somewhat snide and calculating, had devolved into more frantic, fanatical ramblings.

To my right, I saw Icewind standing at attention, no longer in her commander uniform, but in a jet black suit of Enclave power armour. She was looking forwards, clearly avoiding my gaze. Vapour Trail stood beside her, shivering slightly as the cold rain chilled his armour. The other dozen power armour clad pegasi around us I did not recognize.

“You all know the mission,” Firestreak was saying, her gaze sweeping back and forth among us. “The Enclave has never tolerated failure, and neither will I. Fail me, and I’ll have you branded. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mam’,” replied the chorus of voices as the assembled troopers gave an affirmative response.

Firestreak gave a borderline unhinged chuckle. “Good… Now, we find it likely that the Stable mare terrorist that many of you have heard rumours about will be there. I have been told to inform you to not take this individual lightly. She might not be the Lightbringer, but she has proven a deadly opponent on multiple occasions and-”

I tuned Firestreaks lecture out as a small blip appeared on my built in EFS, drawing my attention away. I turned my head, trying to spot what I had noticed, but the blip had disappeared just as fast as it had appeared and there was no sign of anything within sight. I narrowed my gaze, my eyes sweeping back and forth as I tried to spot whatever that had been amongst the rainstorm.

“-For too long now, we pegasi have been forced below the clouds by ponies that should have no control over the skies,” Firestreak continued, continuing to pace back and forth. “But soon all of that will change. As the sun rises, we are going to make the Enclave proud-”

I tried to listen back in, but another blip on the edge of my EFS reverted my attention once more to the skies around the oil rig. I was certain of it now; someone was deliberately trying very hard to stay just out of range of EFS. I shifted my gaze in the direction of the blip, only to catch a split second of feathers flashing through the air as a small pegasus dipped low and out of sight.

I felt my breath slow. I had only seen her for a fraction of a second, but that had been all the time I needed to recognize the pegasus mare. I made a move to follow them, but paused, casting a quick glance at Firestreak and the pegasi around me. This wasn’t the time. Not yet.

Instead, I turned back and listened as Firestreak prattled on, doing my best to seem as unassuming as possible.

“-Now get back to your posts. We leave in three hours,” Firestreak ordered all of us, her debriefing coming to a somewhat abrupt close. She turned and gave me a sly grin through her helmet. “And make sure to be present for the execution. I think that is going to be something we all need to see.”

Firestreak turned and marched off, followed shortly by the rest of the squadron as they began breaking off and heading back to their posts. I waited around for a moment, watching everypony leave before opening up my large wings and taking off into the air, heading silently in the direction of the pegasus I had seen.

It didn’t take long for their tag to pop up on my EFS again. I was flying low beneath the main platform of the oil rig, weaving back and forth between the large metal poles that kept it suspended a few hundred feet above the water. The massive structure of the rig above me cast the area around me into almost complete darkness, save for a few small safety lights that lined the collection of catwalks and the occasional crash of lighting.

A small flash of movement caused me to pull up behind one of the huge supports, my massive hooves touching down on a small section of scaffolding that lined the structure. I waited for a moment, keeping hidden before peeking my head around the pillar and once more scanning the area.

Only a few feet from me, I could see the Dashite, Misty Cloud, I think her name had been, bunkering down against a large pillar on an opposing catwalk, her wings fluffed out to shield her from the rain. She glanced up at the looming structure of the oil rig above, pushing herself up against the cold metal as much as she could in an attempt to stay hidden. Clearly she had heard something approaching, but it didn’t look like she had spotted me yet. She was heaving and out of breath; her wing feathers and mane ruffled and knotted and beads of sweat dripped down her already rain soaked brow. Clearly she had flown a long way through the storm to get here.

Thinking quickly, I began slinking my way around the catwalks, doing my best to keep out of her line of sight. I wasn’t the most stealthy of ponies, not with my immense size and heavily armoured hooves, but the darkness of the night mixed with the howling wind and beating rain seemed to cover most of my approach.

After a few minutes of advancing towards her unseen, I moved up behind the large pillar Misty was bunkering behind. I paused for a moment, checking to make sure she still hadn’t heard me yet. There didn’t seem to be any sign that my approach had been noticed. I heard Misty whisper something under her breath and the sound of shifting hide against metal as she began moving again, this time around the pillar in the direction I was. I tensed the muscles in my legs, waiting for her to come around the corner.

The second I saw movement, I pounced, my hooves sweeping out faster than she could react and knocking the nova surge rifle strapped to her side away and across the catwalk. My segmented, bladed tail flashed out next, catching the dashite in the chest and slamming her violently against the wall. She let loose a loud gasp of surprise, but before she could scream, I lunged forwards, clamping my hoof tightly over her muzzle.

Misty looked up in terror as I loomed over her. She struggled, trying to break free from my grip, but I held her fast. My large tesla cannon popped out of my side, aiming down at her and glowing a dangerous looking vibrant blue.

“Scream and you die,” I told the Dashite, scowling a little as I slowly pulled my hoof away from her. The instance I wasn’t directly grappling her, Misty dove towards where her gun had fallen, her hooves outstretched to grasp onto it. Once again, my tail slammed into her, knocking her to the side long before she had a chance to reach it.

A gasp of breath was violently pushed from Misty’s lungs as she was slammed into the metal wall again. She staggered back to her hooves, spinning to face me as I pushed myself between her and her weapon, blocking off any hope of her reaching it. “I’m going to kill you for what you did!” Misty hissed at me, taking a shaky step back. “Do you hear me?! I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“Are you here to rescue Skylight?” I drawled back in response, my voice hiding any signs of my intentions.

Misty spat at me. “What do you care?” Her eyes darted about, clearly trying to find a way past me and to her gun. I saw her glance over the railing, clearly trying to gauge if she would be able to outfly me.

“Do not make me ask you again,” I growled, taking a step towards her. “Are you here to rescue Skylight?”

Misty clearly tried to put on a brave face as she stared me down. “Yes. And I don’t intend on leaving here until I’ve gotten Skylight and Plasma Charge out of the grasp of monsters like you!”

She dove for her weapon again, this time trying to slide between my legs. My fore hoof swung up, ramming her across the front of the head and sending her sailing backwards and crashing into the floor of the catwalk. I could feel the whole platform tremble as she collided into it with a heavy thud. She looked up at me, blood dripping from her muzzle where I had struck her.

I began trotting forwards, my blood red eyes cutting beams of crimson through the pouring rain. “Plasma Charge is dead,” I told her flatly, reaching out and pinning her down easily with a hoof. “He was executed shortly after being taken into custody.”

I could feel Misty’s whole body go still beneath my hoof at those words. She looked up at me in aghast horror, her eyes wide. “No. No, that’s not true. Plasma Charge is fine and I’m going to get him out of here and-”

“Plasma Charge is dead,” I repeated bluntly, cutting her off. I could feel a chill run through her as the words settled into her like a knife. “But Skylight still has a chance…”

Hesitantly, I withdrew my hoof again, letting her get back to her hooves. She stared at me for a long moment, clearly trying to work out my angle before hauling herself back up. She glanced over at her fallen weapon before once more making a quick dash for it. Unlike before, I made no move to stop her.

“What the fuck is your game?” She snapped hastily, quickly spinning back around to face me as she strapped her gun back onto her side. She took a few steps back, trying to put distance between me and her. “No, I mean really? What the fuck are you actually playing at?”

I paused, not really knowing the answer myself. Nothing made sense right now. Instead, I just continued with the one train of thought I was having that did make sense to me. “You are never going to make it through the oil rig alive,” I informed her, keeping my glowing eyes trained on her rifle. “You’re going to need somepony on the inside to get her out for you.”

There was a long second where Misty just stared at me, dumbfounded, trying to read my expression through my fully enclosed helmet. “And I suppose you are suggesting yourself?”

“Yes.”

Misty just shook her head in disbelief. “What the actual fuck Horrigan? We all trusted you once against our better judgement for Skylight and you fucking betrayed us! Two of us are dead because of you and now you’re trying to tell me you’re on our side? What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“I never said I was on your side!” I roared, my eyes burning into her. My wings flared out, rage swelling in my gut. “I don’t side with traitors. I said I would help save Skylight. Just this once. There is a very big difference.”

Misty scrunched her eyes as if to imply that there wasn’t. “And why should I even trust you?” Misty retorted, her eyes glancing over me as if trying to spot a hidden weapon aside from the massive Tesla cannon aimed at her head. “After what you did, why the fuck should I ever trust a single thing you fucking say?”

“Because what other choice do you have?” I responded flatly, leaving no room for debate. “Either you trust me, or you die. Take your pick.”

Misty hesitated for a long moment, clearly weighing her options. She clearly didn't seem to like the outcome she came to. Finally, she raised her head to look back up at me. “Fine. I’ll work with you, but don’t think that I'll trust you for a second. You’re going to have to do a lot more than just words for me to trust you again.”

“Good. Then you aren’t stupid,” I nickered, turning away from her. “There is an abandoned landing pad on the easternmost side of the rig. Meet me there in one hour. Be discreet. The Enclave cannot know about this.”

Misty gave me a stern nod as I flapped my wings and began to take off from the catwalk. Before I made it far, Misty called out, halting me. “Horrigan,” I looked back at her, one eyebrow raised beneath my visor. “If you betray us again. I will kill you. That’s a promise.”

I gave her a grim nod. “You’re welcome to try.”

Not bothering to say anything further, I soared off, flashing back to the deck of the oil rig. There was work to be done.

My first stop had been the armoury. I had quickly slipped in undetected and snagged a standard Enclave Novasurge rifle. If I was found out, I was going to have to kill whomever spotted me, and the damage from my weaponry was far too recognizable.

I glared at the security camera suspended from the ceiling above me as I walked past. It had shifted to train its gaze on me. The whole oil rig was filled with security measures like these. Getting past them was going to be a trick. After a moment, the camera shifted away, looking down the other side of the hallway.

I grunted to myself before continuing on down the hallway. I made sure the security camera saw me walking down the turn to the right before ducking around another corner and out of its line of sight. I paused for a movement, listening carefully to the mechanical whirring of the security camera as it slowly came to a stop and went silent. A second passed before I heard the whirring start up again as the camera began shifting to look down the other hall.

Pushing myself back around the corner, I quickly skirted down the hallway, just out of the camera’s field of view before ducking down the hallway to the left and heading towards the security sector of the oil rig. I paused only a moment outside the closed doorway to the surveillance room. I glanced one last time at another security camera on the ceiling that was facing away from me, before taking a deep breath and activating the stealth-buck that I had only just recently had implanted into my head.

For a second, I thought nothing had happened, only for a small chill to pass through me a second later. I glanced down, watching as my whole body began to shimmer and turn translucent. It wasn’t a perfect invisibility, but it would be next to impossible to spot if I wasn’t moving and if the pony didn’t know what to look for.

Stealing myself, I moved to the left side of the sliding door leading into the security office. I reached back, readying the Novasurge rifle before firing two blasts down the hall in the other direction. The effect was almost immediate. I could hear the pony stationed inside the security room give a yelp of surprise, followed by the clamouring of hoofsteps as they scrambled to the door. A second later, the door slid open, revealing a small white pegasus mare with a long scar on her neck, poke her head out the doorway and glance in the direction of the blasts I had fired. She gave a small gulp before beginning to walk down the hallway, her weapons drawn and her eyes darting back and forth as she looked for the cause of the gunshots.

Her eyes landed on the two black sear marks in the wall before quickly whipping around and staring at where I was standing. Or rather, she stared at where I would have been standing had I not immediately moved into the surveillance room behind her seconds before the sliding door automatically slid shut once again.

My eyes immediately darted around as I made out the dozens of different monitors covering the wall, each one showing a different section of the oil rig through the many surveillance cameras. My eyes shifted to look at the security cameras surveying the holding cells. On one screen, I spotted Skylight, her body still held taut by the many chains anchored into the walls of her cell. Her head was bowed and her once beautiful mane hung over her face.

I reached out, pausing the feed. With luck, this would all be over before anypony realized what I had done.

I began to turn to leave, only for my eyes to catch on one screen displaying the abandoned landing pad I had told Misty to meet me at. On the screen, I could see Misty pacing back and forth nervously, her rifle drawn and ready to fire at the first sign of danger. I felt myself curse under my breath. So they were monitoring there after all.

I began to reach out to pause that feed as well, only for the door behind me to abruptly slide open, making way for the scared, white coated mare to trot back in, looking a little confused. I took a slow step back, doing my best to silently move my large, translucent bulk out of her way as she trotted past me. The room wasn’t overly large, and I had to cram most of my body against the wall to keep from her rubbing against me.

With a grunt, the mare slumped back down into her seat. “Boredom is making me fuckin’ jumpy,” The mare muttered to herself, bending down and pulling out a bottle of wild pegasus whisky that she had hidden under the desk and taking a quick swig before placing it down on the desk. “Probably just a bunch of rookies dicking off with their guns.”

Narrowing my gaze at the assortment of buttons that sat in front of the mare, I let my invisible, segmented, mechanical tail slowly uncurl and begin arching in the air above the mare's head. I hesitated for a moment as the long blade came to a rest directly by the mare's neck. It would be so easy to kill her now and get out of here.

But I had to make sure this couldn’t all be traced back to me. The Enclave could never know.

My scorpion-like tail continued to extend over her, arching down to her left and gently tapping one of the keys in front of her, pausing the video feed of the abandoned landing pad. The mare’s head twitched in the direction of the button as the small clicking noise rang out, her ears sticking straight up. Her eyes darted around, clearly trying to spot what had caused the small noise. A second later, she rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the screens, clearly not seeing anything.

I glanced over at the closed, metal door leading out of the security room. I could easily get out, but opening the door would likely tip the mare off that something was wrong.

My eyes darted over to the mares whiskey bottle as she began lazily reaching for it. The second her hoof came in contact with the bottle, I let my tail swish out, knocking the bottle to the floor and sending it rolling towards the door.

The mare gave a loud, “Fuck!” before pushing herself up and trotting over to the fallen bottle, doing her best to avoid stepping in the spilt whiskey across the floor. “I need to stop being so fucking clumsy.”

The metal door slid open by proximity as the mare bent down to scoop up the fallen bottle. Gritting my teeth, I shifted past her, ducking back out into the hallway, still very much invisible. I could hear the mare give a small eep as her head darted around, clearly having felt something large move past her, but by then it was too late, I was already out and down the hallway.

A few moments later, I stood outside Skylight's cell, watching her motionless form through the one way glass. After a moment, I let the invisibility drop, shimmering back into view. I took a deep breath before reaching out and activating the controls for the doorway, sliding it open.

Skylight jerked her head up at the sound of the door, glaring at me as I trotted back in. Her eyes narrowed the moment she recognized me, her expression a mix of hate and betrayal.

For a long moment, the two of us just stood there, staring at each other, not knowing how to begin or what to say. Eventually, Skylight dropped her head back down, staring down at the floor in defeat. “Why couldn’t you have just stayed dead?” She breathed, her mane obscuring most of her face from me. I could see her body tremble as she forced back tears. “Why couldn’t you have just died and let me live with the stupid little lie in my head that you had been a good pony?” She looked back up at me, her tear filled eyes demanding answers to questions I didn’t even know how to begin with. “Why?”

I stared at her for a moment longer, my eyes looking over every inch of her being. My eyes came to rest for a brief moment on the brand that adorned her flank before I forced myself to look away from it and back into her eyes. “I am a good pony,” I responded lamely. “I obey.”

“No,” Skylight said simply. “You’re a good soldier. There’s a very big difference.”

I hesitated, not sure how to respond to that. Was there a difference? If so, I certainly didn’t know what it was. I shook that thought from my mind. We had bigger things to deal with at the moment. “You will be executed within the hour,” I told her factually, taking a few steps into the cell and looming above her. “Soon the Enclave will crush anything that remains of this rebellion you and this Stable mare have started. The Enclave cannot be stopped. Not anymore.”

Skylight took a shuddering breath at my words. I could see the fear in her eyes. Fear for her own life, certainly, but there was more to it than that. She was afraid of something far greater. Curious, was it me, or the idea of failure and what that implied?

“Then please, leave me to my death,” She finally sighed, a strange sense of finality settling over her words. “Haunt me no longer, Horrigan. At least grant me that one wish. That when I die, I don’t need to look my oldest friend in the eyes and only see the monster that lived beneath their flesh.”

“The Goddess turned me into this,” I justified, never letting my gaze drop from hers. The goddess had made me the monster that I am. Why couldn’t she see that? I wasn’t the one to blame for any of this.

Skylight almost growled in response. “No, the Goddess mutated you, the Enclave turned you into an abomination, but you turned yourself into the monster, Horrigan. You did this to yourself,” she finally pulled her gaze away from mine, staring up at the ceiling. “And the worst part is I think you were always like this. I was just to fucking stupid and blinded to see it,” she took a deep breath before once more forcing herself to look at me, but her gaze had become far off and distant, as if she wasn’t able to fully see me before her. “I loved you, Prance Horrigan. I really did, but like everything else, you fucked that up too.”

I felt my gut twist at the words. Deep down, suppressed behind the constant pounding in my head that told me to obey, I had already known. But it was too late for that now. “I know…” I replied slowly. “I think I always have,” I slowly began moving around her, my eyes lingering on the chains that held her to the wall.

There was a small huffing sound as Skylight somberly laughed to herself. “I figured. You were always observant… if a little dense,” Skylight gave a small chuckle. It wasn’t a happy-sounding laugh, but one filled with almost thirty years of sorrow, though despite it all, there was at least a little mirth to it. Not a second later, her sad smile faded away as a flash of intense emotional agony seemed to flash itself across her face. “This is torture, Horrigan. What you’re doing… please… I can’t take us being like this. Just leave me alone. I don’t think I can bear this talk any longer…”

I glanced at the one way glass, staring disdainfully at my sinister reflection. The monster in the mirror stared back, unblinking, void of any signs of emotion. It truly was a horrifying sight, a metallic nightmare of malice. “Yes. The time for talking between us is over,” I agreed, painfully looking away from my reflection. “I will never betray the Enclave, Skylight. Not like you. But know that I loved you as well. Or whatever that actually amounts to now,” I raised a hoof and placed it gently on the top of the metal clasp holding some of Skylight's many chains to the wall before pressing down, snapping the metal chain from the wall.

Skylight abruptly jerked back, her body suddenly granted the ability to move as half the chains suspending her went slack. She looked up at me with wide eyes, her expression a flurry of surprise and conflicted confusion. “Prance? What are you doing?”

I shifted my position and snapped the second set of chains, freeing Skylight completely. She pushed herself away from me, shoving her back up against the wall as if expecting me to pounce on her and attack. I turned to her, my red eyes burrowing into her as she cowered. “We do not have much time. They will be coming for you soon. Follow.”

I led Skylight along down a side hallway, ducking out of view of a few Enclave soldiers as they marched past. Skylight trailed along behind me in a suit of Enclave Power armour we had managed to scavenge from the armoury.

“Prance, what is going on?” Skylight hissed, placing the dark, insectoid helmet over her head and pulling up alongside me as another squadron of Enclave troops stormed past. “Why are you-”

I cut her off with a swipe of my wing, the muscles in my legs tensing as I heard more heavily armoured hoofsteps approaching from down a side hall. I shifted my weight, pulling us into another hallway. My eyes glanced up, making out the shape of another security camera above us. Thankfully, it was currently facing away. A second later, the sound of hoofsteps began to fade as the armoured Enclave soldiers marched off in a different direction.

“Follow,” I instructed her again, more sternly this time as I began to make my way down the next hallway. “Misty is waiting for you outside.”

I could practically feel Skylight’s eyes widen in surprise at that. “Wait, you’re working with- but…” Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of everything. She quickened her pace, quickly pushing herself in front of me to block my path. “Horrigan, I want answers! Right now! You betrayed me! You got two of my best friends in the whole world killed and… and then you branded me as a fucking Dashite! You can’t just do that to me and then turn around and say you're on my side! What is-”

“I am not on your side,” I growled, keeping my voice low in fear of any nearby Enclave personnel. “I serve the Enclave, and you are a fool for betraying them.”

Skylight took a step back, glaring up at me definitely. “Then what the fuck are you doing?” At my silence, she pushed further. “You realise what you’re doing right now is treason, don’t you? If the Enclave ever found out about this, you would be branded and executed just as they would have had me.”

I scowled, though I wasn’t sure if it was at her or at myself. “I don’t understand many things in life, Skylight. I never have. I live my life by four virtues: duty, honour, courage and obedience. I obey, and when I have no orders to follow, I will kill. But you…” I let my words trail off as I looked the small pegasus over, trying to figure her out in my head. “What is happening to you feels wrong, and I don’t know why. And I hate not knowing why.”

“Because it is!” Skylight insisted. “You have to understand that! Everything the Enclave tells you is a lie!”

I stomped my hoof and snorted, a burst of steam escaping the ventilator on my helmet. “I don’t understand. I know you. Better than any pony in Equestria. You love the Enclave. How could you turn your back on them like this? How could you have turned your back on me?”

“I thought you were dead!” Skylight shot back. “And yes, I did love the Enclave. Loved. But that was before I was ordered to gun down innocent foals. Before I watched them slaughter hundreds of civilians for no reason other than their own selfish gains... Then when I defected, I began to learn about other things as well. Things far worse than anything I saw the Enclave do in Friendship City.”

“Like what?” I rumbled dangerously.

“I was there that night, remember? When those monsters broke into your home and murdered your mother… When those monsters tried to murder us…” Skylight breathed, her voice shaky. She watched me over cautiously, her eyes darting back and forth to try and gauge my reaction. I could feel every muscle in my body lock up at the mention of that night. “But that night was a lie, Horrigan. All of it was. Do you really think the Cloud Seeding Rebellion was real? Do you really think the Enclave would have allowed a regime like that to exist for that long unchallenged?”

“What are you implying?” I could feel my breath coming out in slow heaves. “Those monsters were trying to abolish the Enclave. They were trying to spread chaos and prove life above the clouds was unstable.”

“No, they were trying to villainize the idea of returning below the clouds!” Skylight retorted, taking an advancing step towards me. “Don’t you get it?! There was no Cloud Seeding Rebellion, not really! The Enclave made it up! They hired ponies to burn whole towns to the ground to keep ponies in line. Your mother was slaughtered like a pig so the Enclave could look good, and it fucking worked!”

“Enough!” I roared, my hooves slamming down heavily on the ground in front of me and making the whole hallway shake. Skylight stumbled and had to violently flap her wings at her sides to keep from losing her balance. “The Enclave saved our lives! We owe them everything!”

“We owe them nothing!” Skylight spat. “The Enclave didn't save your life! Look at yourself, Horrigan. Take a good long fucking look. And not just at what you look like. Who the fuck even are you outside of serving the Enclave? Cause I don’t fucking know anymore. That doesn’t sound like you’re really living at all.”

I rose up to my full height, towering over her. I glowered at her from beneath my blood red, glass eyes, trying to find some sort of read on her. Find anything that told me she might be lying, but her face was stone cold. “How did you find this out about the Cloud Seeding Rebellion,” I finally asked in a low, scathing tone.

“Plasma Charge,” Skylight said, her face suddenly filling with a mournful expression. “His father was a part of the Enclave division that organized it. It was the original reason he went Dashite.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, I heard more hoofsteps approaching from down the hall. I scowled to myself, before pushing Skylight aside and beginning to walk forwards. “Follow,” I ordered her. “Look normal.”

Skylight’s ears twitched, picking up the noise as well. She gave me a nod, falling in step behind me as we slowly began walking down the hall as if we belonged there. I rounded the corner to find two Enclave ponies approaching me, both in their full suits of insectoid-looking power armour, sans their helmets. I recognized the two ponies at once.

“Horrigan,” Icewind greeted stoically, slowing to a stop a few paces away from us. Vapour Trail came to a stop beside her, his head looking both Skylight and I over curiously. “I didn’t expect to find you here. Aren’t you supposed to be topside preparing for the mission?”

“Aren’t both of you?” I pointed out in turn, glaring at each of them. I could feel more than see Skylight slowly trying to shift out of their view behind my large bulk. She might have been obscured by Enclave power armour, but I highly doubted the disguise would hold up under inspection.

“F-firestreak wanted us to g-get the prisoner for execution,” Vapour stuttered. “She w-wanted Icewind to be the one to have her executed,” I could see a chill pass through both Skylight and Icewind at Lightning’s statement.

Icewind’s eyes flicked over to Skylight for a second. I could see her wings twitch slightly as a look of recognition cross over her face before getting concealed once more behind an icy demeanour. She turned to Vapour, giving him a signal with her wing. “You go on ahead and secure the prisoner. I need to have a word in private with Horrigan.”

Vapour gave her a quick salute. “G-got it mam’.”

“I’m not your commander anymore!” Icewind called after him as Vapour began trotting off down the hall in the direction of the prison. She sighed once he was out of sight, slumping a little. She glanced up at me, a bit of a smug smile splayed across her face. “Only an hour ago, I told you to figure out who the hell you were. I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I responded in a low, intimidating rumble, daring her to suggest anything further.

“And I recommend you keep it that way,” she smirked, taking a few steps closer to me. “Do not forget what I told you, Prance Horrigan. Don’t fuck this up,” she turned slightly, her gaze shifting to the disguised form of Skylight. “As you were, soldier,” She said smugly, before turning and heading off down the hallway after Vapour. “I’d suggest you both move quickly. Things are about to get very interesting.”

Though the sun had just begun to crest the horizon, the rain refused to let up and was still beating down heavily upon the abandoned section of the oil rig when Skylight and I hauled ourselves out and into the open air. The moment Misty saw us emerging, she sprung forwards, tackling Skylight to the ground in a big hug. The two pulled apart after a moment, laughing.

“Thank the goddess. I thought I had lost you for good!” Misty exclaimed, a weight clearly having been lifted from her shoulders.

Skylight smiled at first, but her smile quickly faded. “Mist… Plasma Charge… they-”

“I know,” Misty said, her own face falling. “Horrigan already told me,” she took a moment to settle her emotions before she let a smile return to her face. “But I’m just glad to have you back.”

I took a step towards them, my wings unfurling slightly. “You are not out of this yet. Not while you are still on the Enclave oil rig,” I informed them. “I give them less than a minute until they realize you’ve escaped, assuming they haven't already. You’ve seen what the Enclave will do just to kill one Dashite. Don’t think they won’t do the same for you.”

Skylight turned back to look at me, a strange look of confliction on her face. “And what about you? What are you going to do now?”

“I will do what I have always done,” I asserted. “Do not think that anything has changed. I will carry out my objective to secure the survival of the Enclave.”

“And when they find out you let me go? What then?” She pushed, taking another step forwards.

“They won’t find out,” I responded bluntly.

“We know what the Enclave is planning, Horrigan. We want to stop it. We want to save the wasteland. Make it a better place than it was when we entered it…” Skylight said, trying to keep as headstrong a posture as she could before me. She paused, looking me over curiously. “I'll be honest, I don’t think I can ever trust you again, not after what you did, but…” She hesitated for only a short moment before extending her hoof to me. “If you join us… We could try and help you… I know there is more to you than just the monster of metal and flesh you think you’ve become. We could try and make the wasteland better together?”

I took a step back, my glowing eyes shinning beams of crimson through the heavy rain. “I saved you, Skylight. But our time together has come to a close,” I let my wings fully unfurl, splaying out on either side of me and causing droplets of rainwater to shoot out in all directions. “Don’t show up at the MOA hub tomorrow, or things will end very differently between us.”

Skylight shook her head, taking a small step back of her own. “You know I can’t do that, Prance.”

“Then pray our paths don't cross,” I rumbled. “Because if we meet again, I will not hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?”

Skylight gave me a slow nod. “I do…” She turned, facing off towards the raging ocean and the small city of Manehattan on the horizon. "Goodbye Horrigan..." In unison, the two Dashites extended their wings out and shot off into the rain, catching one of the stronger currents of wind and flashing out and away from the oil rig.

I watched them soar off for a long moment before turning away and walking back into the oil rig. I had only made it halfway to the top deck, when Vapour Trail came rushing down the hallway towards me.

“Horrigan. W-we’ve got a p-problem!” He said, his voice coming out in frantic pants. “Skylight’s escaped! F-Firestreak is furious!”

I gave him a grim nod. “Take me there.”

“What do you mean there is no security footage!” Firestreak howled, glaring at the smaller, white pegasus that had been in charge of monitoring the security camera surveillance. Firestreak had stormed straight to the surveillance room the moment she had learned of Skylight’s escape. Icewind, Vapour and I had all crowded into the room behind her, looming over the trembling security mare.

“I-I don’t know what happened!” The mare was pleading, cowering before Firestreak. “Somepony must have tampered with the footage.”

“They would have had to have snuck into her directly and manually tampered with the camera’s,” Icewind frowned, looking the many monitors over. She cast me a quick sideways glance, but I ignored her. “There is no other way to activate the security systems.”

“I th-think I found the intruder,” Vapour piped up, eyeing the terminal screen showing the footage of the abandoned platform. The paused, flickering image of Misty Cloud still clearly visible on the screen. “L-looks like t-that Dashite that got away must have come back to rescue her companion.”

“Seems like that Dashite was more trouble than you thought,” Icewind bit at Firestreak.

Firestreak was practically fuming. She glowered at Icewind before her head snapped to stare down at the security mare. “Your stupidity may have just cost the Enclave dearly!” her hoof flew out, slamming into the mare’s chest and throwing her violently against the wall. The mare whimpered, scuttling back in an attempt to evade the larger mare’s wrath. “You are to report to the Colonel immediately. Go soldier, now!”

The small mare gave a yelp as Firestreak snapped at her, making a desperate dash for the door. Firestreak growled after her as she rushed out, her shoulder rising and falling with each of her manic breaths. Once the security mare was out of sight, Firestreak turned to all of us, glaring at us through her imposing helmet. “I want all of you on the top deck! If the Dashites are free, then they will be heading straight for the MOA hub. We cannot not allow them to get to the megaspell reactor module first! We leave immediately!”

Following her command, we pushed our way to the top deck of the oil rig, where we found a large gathering of Enclave soldiers awaiting us. Firestreak pushed to the front, her segmented, bladed tail sweeping back and forth as she split the crowd in two.

“Ponies of the Enclave!” Firestreak began, whipping around to face the crowd as Icewind, Vapour and I came to a stop amongst the assembled ponies. “There is no time to wait on ceremony. The Stable mare and her treacherous Dashites are heading for the MOA hub. They hope to cut us off and secure the objective for their own twisted and vile plans. It is up to us to ensure that we get there first! Now, get out there and-”

“Hold for just a moment, Firestreak,” The stately voice Colonel Thunderbolt spoke up, rising above even the din of the pounding rain. The whole crowd turned to see the Colonel trotting towards us, four fully armoured Enclave soldiers marching at his side. My eyes instantly landed on a small pegasus mare being dragged along beside them, a black sack over their head and a thick leash tied around their neck. Colonel Thunderbolt came to a stop in front of the assembly, stepping up atop a platform to look down upon the group. The Enclave soldiers accompanying him stood behind him, tossing the bound mare down before him. “I believe I promised an execution before you all depart. And I am a pony of my word.”

I furrowed my brow, focusing on the bound mare. For a terrifying moment, I could have sworn it was Skylight, that the Enclave had already caught her again. She had the same frame, and same white hide. Her cutie mark had been branded off, though hers looked remarkably recent. But the real tell that something was off was the thin scar that poked out from under the sack over her head and trailed down her neck.

Thunderbolt reached into his dark trenchcoat and slowly pulled out the pistol he kept strapped to his side. He raised it up for a moment, making sure every pony could clearly see the weapon before lowering it and placing it against the back of the mare's head. The mare’s squirming body went still as she felt the cold touch of the gun barrel press against her.

“There are many evils in the wasteland,” Thunderbolt told us, his eyes shifting to make contact with each and every one of us. “Steel Rangers, raiders, mutant abominations. But there is one evil that the wasteland cultivates beyond any other… You all know what I speak of.”

“Dashites!” Came the resounding roar from the ponies below him.

“Indeed,” Thunderbolt affirmed, his hoof tightening slightly on the trigger of his gun. “And what is the punishment for being a Dashite?”

“Death!”

Blam!

Blood splattered across the platform as a single shot from the bullet burst out, blowing out the mare's brains. The mare’s limp body slumped to the ground, blood oozing from the stump that had once been her head. Thunderbolt looked the corpse over for a moment, his face a mask of emotionless indifference, before he stepped over the body to address us all more directly.

“These traitors… Dashites. They are unwell. Sick in the mind… They cannot be reasoned with,” Thunderbolt told us. “Do not let these metally twisted individuals get between us and what must be done to rebuild Equestria. Make the Enclave proud. Prove to us, that the Enclave will hold steadfast against evil,” a stern smile settled across Thunderbolts face as he stomped one hoof on the ground and raised his wing to the storm above. “All hail the Grand Pegasus Enclave!”

Each and every pegasus straightened up in unison, one wing extending to their brows as the loud sound of stomping filled the howling winds like an orchestra of war drums. “HAIL THE ENCLAVE!”

Thunderbolt slowly made his way down from the platform, his personal guards dragging off the body of the dead mare. Thunderbolt paused as he passed me, his eyes never looking in my direction. "That mare is dead because she failed me, Horrigan," Thunderbolt said simply, his jaw clenching slightly. “If you fail me, or I learn you had anything to do with Skylight's escape, then you are a dead pony. Do you understand?”

I kept my gaze forward, not daring to look him in the eye. Not daring to let him see the unsettling sense of unease that had begun to wash over me. “I understand completely, Colonel.”

“Good,” The Colonel said, sliding his pistol back into his coat. “Now ready yourself. It’s time to truly prove your loyalty.”

"Of course..." I felt a strange hole opening up in my gut, but my next words forced themselves out my mouth on their own free will. “All hail the Enclave.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, but here it is, chapter 7! hope you all enjoyed!